President Ghani vows to make Afghanistan ‘graveyard of terror’

Afghan President Mohammad Ashraf Ghani has said his government is determined to “make Afghanistan [a] graveyard of terror,” identifying terrorism as the major challenge facing the region.

Ghani made the remarks on Tuesday in a speech to the Indian Council of World Affairs (ICWA), a government think tank in the Indian capital of New Delhi.

“Terror must be confronted and must be overcome… Our will must not be underestimated and we will not be beaten to submission,” said Ghani, adding that terror must be “contained if the disease is to be cured.”

The Afghan president also said peace was the main goal of his government as “the shadow of terror haunts our children, our women, our youth.”

Ghani called for regional cooperation to defeat the militants spreading violence, as Afghanistan has become a battlefield where Afghans “are fighting on behalf of neighboring and regional nations from India to Russia.”

The remarks by Ghani came after he met with India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi, when both sides underscored the need to end terror and stressed connectivity and security.

The Indian prime minister also vowed continued support for Kabul’s fight against the Taliban militant group and renewed his commitment to developing trade ties with Afghanistan.

This comes as fighting between Afghan forces and militants has intensified since the Taliban launched its so-called annual spring offensive dubbed “Azm” (Resolution) on April 24 against Afghan forces as well as foreign embassies.

Afghanistan faces a security challenge years after the United States and its allies invaded the country in 2001 as part of Washington’s so-called war on terror. The offensive removed Taliban from power, but many areas in the country are still witnessing violence, which threatens stability.